Author Notes - Hooray for chapters that are still long in the re-edit, but were EVEN LONGER originally. Seriously, this chapter was about 10,000 words long originally. Which is way longer than it needed to be.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN - TWISTERS OF SISTERS

'What in the ever loving-?!'

Daisy and Polterpup were greeted with their reflections once again; they had returned to the room with the giant block of glass.

'Wha...? How?' She growled in realisation. 'GAH, it was those triplets again! They've scrambled up the whole place. Maybe I don't want any children...'

Polterpup emitted a bewildered whimper.

'Tell me about it.' Daisy muttered. 'You got any ideas?'

The spectral hound shrugged his shoulders. Daisy sighed, and headed for the door that previously led to the small hall.

'So if the doors are all jumbled up, we just gotta go through them all until we arrive back at that stage thing.'

'Ruff?'

'Hey, don't question me! It's a good idea.' She said, stepping through the door. 'It's the best we've - OH MY GOOD LORD!'

That door did not lead to the stage. Or any room for that matter. Daisy looked down for a moment, and bore witness to the ground below - eleven floors below.

And Daisy could feel herself wobbling forward.

'AAHHHHH!'

Polterpup grabbed her by the back of her shirt, and dragged her back into safety. She fell to the soft solid floor as Polterpup slammed the door shut.

Daisy unleashed an inelegant cry of despair and agony. 'OKAY!' She yelled, her eyes twitching. 'Let's be a little more careful with these doors, and not even risk splitting up. Our team is divided enough as is. Stay by my side at all costs, and let's pray to Luvbi that this door won't lead directly to my death.'

They dreaded where the third door could've taken them, but they had no other options. This time, Daisy opened it much more slowly and carefully. It led directly into the elevator hall, from the door that Luigi had to Dark-Light. Which, of course, meant there were no other doors to go through.

'OH, I see!' Daisy yelled, looking around. 'So it's either get stuck in rooms with only one door, or fall to my death. Great options!'

Her eyes spied the elevator door. Well, it was a 'door'.

'Hey Poltiepup, do you think...?'

He was already giving her a look.

'You got any better ideas?'

With the ghostly dog trailing behind her, Daisy pressed the button for the elevator. Unlike every other time it was pressed, the elevator did not take a few seconds to arrive or do so with a distinctive 'DING' sound. The door just opened up. To the gravity-defying bedroom.

Daisy smirked at Polterpup. 'A-HA! Told you it would work!'

Her cockiness faded away almost immediately when she saw the fan on the floor. It spun around so fast that its own anchor could barely hold it. Paranormal gates emerged and blocked off the doors.

'Oh lord...'

Not one, not two, not even three, but four Oozers emerged from thin air, all armed with pool balls and handfuls of coins.

'Well, well, well.' One of them said, juggling the balls in her hands. 'You know what they say... divide then conquer!'

'Wait, isn't it divide and conquer?' Another asked.

A third pinched what would've been the bridge of his nose if he had one. 'Dang it, Becky! We've been over this joke a million times!' He sighed. 'You're hopeless...'

'Forget that!' The fourth said. 'We have a princess to pound.'

Daisy chuckled. This would be fun.


Lindsey had ended up in the elevator hall. It took her a couple of seconds to realise that this wasn't the room she was supposed to have gone through.

'Oh no…' She muttered. 'Oh, no no no!'

She dashed through the wall, hoping it would take her to her sisters. It did not. It was a much smaller room that didn't even have a functioning light, but she could tell by the sickening smell of detergent exactly where she was.

'The... the laundry?'

An ironing board folding out of the wall barely missed her as it slammed to the floor.

'No... Nikki? Ginny? Where are you?'

No response.

'Oh no. Oh please no... they couldn't have. There's no way they jumbled the rooms without me. T-They didn't...' She giggled. 'Oh, I'm not falling for this joke again. I know what you're doing. I betcha hiding in the washing machines again! That got me good the first time, but I'm onto you!'

She gave one of the machines a shake, giggling to herself. A rattling sound came from inside it.

'Ah, so you're gonna try lowering my guard, hey GinGin? Come on, I'm your sister. I know how you think!'

She threw her entire body at the machine. The lid snapped open, but it was not Ginny or Nikki who popped out. A bucket's worth of water sloshed out the hole and splashed onto her arms. She screamed.

'No, please!' She cried. 'I-I was just defending my sister! I-I'm not a witch, I promise! GINNY, HELP ME!'

She ran. Without even realising it, she phased through one of the walls and ended up in another room.


'So where are Daisy and Polterpup?'

'I... am not sure. The doors are supposed to lead to the same room each time they're opened. Maybe your friends were given a different path. The triplets are very powerful for their age.'

Luigi saw the same two doors from before, and the blaring frantic circus music in the background did not help him choose in the slightest.

'Okay, so where should we go?' He asked.

'Er, slight problem.' Polterkitty answered. 'They mix it up every time. Last time I witnessed a mortal fall victim to this, that door led to the bathroom with a shower full of water.'

'So in other words, it's totally random?'

'Yep. We'll just have to try all the doors until we find the right path.'

Luigi groaned.

'On the bright side,' Polterkitty continued. 'They never arrange a path with an impossible layout. So, we really can just guess wildly until we get it.'

'What do you suggest?' Luigi asked.

'Honestly? Just guess.'

Picking a door at random, Luigi opened the one that usually led to the elevator hall. He bore witness to a Goob in a room full of mirrors, brushing her teeth with a toilet brush. Once her mouth was foamy enough, she used that same toilet brush to clean her behind. She then put it back in her mouth.

'Eugh...' Luigi muttered.

The Goob spun around and shrieked. 'My word! You are invading my privacy, you peeping Tom!'

Luigi shrieked too. 'S-S-Sorry miss! I-It was an accident!'

He slammed the door shut and pressed his back up against it as if holding back a great evil. His cheeks were the reddest they were that night. Polterkitty sauntered for the third door. Luigi followed close behind, holding his cap down over his eyes.

Behind that door was that small hall that had dropped a hat onto Daisy. The top hat in question remained knocked over as it was left. One major problem though - the next door had a paranormal gate over it, yet no ghosts. The Panthergeist grunted, and slashed the gate to pieces. It only took a second for it to reform.

'What?!' She cried. 'They're not supposed to just reappear like that.'

'Maybe there's a puzzle those girls want us to solve?'

'Right. That makes sense. But what though?'

The path to the right simply led to some bookshelves and a table. That, and a marble statue of Nikki, Lindsey, and Ginny themselves. Except Lindsey, and only Lindsey, was missing her hat. Polterkitty glanced up at the knocked-over top hat.

'Wait, Luigi! I think I've got it.' She said, before grabbing the hat with her teeth.

'Uh, alright. I'm following... not really.'

Polterkitty threw the hat on top of the Lindsey statue, and it slowly turned to marble. After a few seconds, it had blended in with the rest of the statue perfectly. Like she had hoped, the paranormal gate was released.

'Nice!' Luigi said, grinning. 'How did you know that would work?'

'I didn't. I just guessed.'

'That's fine too! I can't count how often just guessing has gotten me through things.'

He opened the door as he said this, stepping through with a more optimistic attitude.

'So if we keep guessing, we might be able to - LEAPING LASAGNA!'

It was not the fact that he had arrived in the unfamiliar water tank bathroom that elicited such a reaction. In the far corner, he saw another purple top hat on the floor. It gave off quiet sobbing and sniffling sounds. Without even any first thoughts, he ran over to that hat and used a burst to make it fly away.

'Eep!' The ghost within it yelped.

Luigi's eyes widened. 'L-Lindsey? What are you doing here?'

The young ghost looked up to him with the most beaten-up-looking eyes he had seen in a long time.

She wiped her eyes and nose before answering. 'I-I don't think my sisters care about me anymore...'

'W-What makes you say that?' Luigi asked.

'T-They jumbled all the rooms without me. I-I mean, that's happened many times before, but they used to go looking for me. Now, they don't even care enough to do that...'

Luigi didn't need to think about it for a moment, and brought her into a warm hug. He could feel her ectoplasmic tears soaking into his shirt.

'Of course they care about you, Lindsey.' He said, running his fingers through her hair.

'But why don't they care about me now? They used to. But ever since Mr Potter brought us into this hotel, they've hated me.'

The fatherly instincts in Luigi kicked in, and he hugged her tighter. Polterkitty popped into the room, and found the sight of a heartbroken Lindsey to be far more heart-wrenching than she could have ever expected. Hanging out with Green Man and Mean Lady was changing her much more than she thought.

When Lindsey caught sight of the hulking Panthergeist, she brightened up in seconds. 'PUDDING!'

She leapt off the floor and wrapped her arms around 'Pudding's neck, rubbing her cheeks against the warm ghostly fur. 'Pudding' soaked it all up and purred like a motor boat.

'Um, Pudding?' Luigi questioned.

'Oh, that's my nickname for the wittle kitty. Did you know I can understand animals? Cos I can. And she's a friend of mine! Aren't you, Pudding?'

Polterkitty responded with a cheerful mew, completely unbefitting of her monstrous appearance.

'Who's a cute wittle Pudding? You are! Yes you are!'

Though she didn't want the sweet moment to end, Polterkitty felt the need to give the young ghost the info that she had needed years ago.

'Mroo-oo-oow...'

'WHAT?!' Luigi and Lindsey cried at the same time.

'Y-You mean that, Pudding?' Lindsey asked. 'M-Ms Gravely is using her mind tricks on my sisters, but not me? And she's been doing this ever since we were hired?!'

Polterkitty nodded, and looked to the floor.

'That's awesome!' Lindsey yelled, making her jump. 'I mean, it's awful that my sisters are falling victim to the mind tricks. Absolutely awful! BUT, that means they still care for me! It's just-' She gasped, and frowned. 'Ms Gravely! Oh, that witch...'

Luigi placed his hand on her back. 'Don't worry about her. Daisy and I will stop her.' He sighed. 'You know, you're not the only one dealing with Ms Gravely. She's taken my older brother from me.'

Lindsey, upon hearing such an injustice, wrapped her arms around him. 'So we'll take her down together!'

Luigi's eyes shot open. As gently as he could, he pushed her away. Her smile remained unfettered.

'L-Listen Lindsey,' He said, scratching the back of his neck. 'I appreciate your, um, enthusiasm to join, but it's really dangerous for someone your age. Even if you're a ghost, I don't feel comfortable bringing a child with us. I hope you understand.'

'Oh, yeah I understand! That's alright. My older sisters never let me do anything dangerous. And Ginny tried oh so hard to keep me safe when...'

She winced. Such awful, awful memories came back to her.

'Don't worry.' Luigi said. 'You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to.'

'Um, but I kinda do. Y-Yeah, it was... horrible, but, you know, talking about it helps. That's what Mr Potter told me. Mr Potter likes to pretend he doesn't like us, but we know he adores us. What was I saying? Oh yeah. Talking about it might make me feel better.'

Luigi took his seat on the floor, and patted the space next to him.

'Okay.' He said. 'If you wanna talk about it, I'll listen.'

She sat down next to him and put her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her; if this is what it was like to have a child, he wanted one more than ever.

'See, my older sisters and I have been ghosts for a long time. Like, a really long time. A really, really long time. A few centuries... I think? We came from the Cap Kingdom, back when humans lived there too. One day, we found out how great we were with the art of illusion! You should've seen it. Nikki sawed me in half in front of the entire village! Ginny helped us pull it off.' She frowned. 'But then, we learnt that showing off our talent was a bad idea.'

'How come?' Luigi asked.

'The other people in our village? They didn't like it. They called us witches.'

'Witches?!'

Suddenly, Luigi didn't want to hear the rest of it.

'Yeah.' Lindsey said. 'Nikki was the first to go. Our parents tried to stop it, but... the others burnt her alive. Though, I think the smoke got to her first. I-I was next. They tied me to a rock and said that if I was a witch, I'd save myself from... d-drowning. Uh, you can see it didn't work.'

She punctuated that sentiment with a laugh that she couldn't make sound real. Polterkitty cringed, the story bringing back her own horrible memories.

'Aw, your poor poor thing...' Luigi said, softly. 'I-I know my words don't really help, but-'

'Oh, don't worry! Your words are just fine. I like them. They're nice. Ginny tried her hardest to keep me safe, even offering to take my place. I wasn't around to see what happened to her, but... she wasn't the same after it.'

She cuddled into his chest, smiling as she indulged in the warm.

'Luigi,' Polterkitty said. 'If we're gonna talk about the past, I have something to admit too.'

Luigi reached out and stroked her head. 'Alright.'

Polterkitty rested her head on Luigi's lap as she explained her story.

'I was born with two tails, unlike my brothers and sisters. It scared my breeders. They tried to pawn me off, but no one wanted to adopt me. It didn't take long for my breeders to give up on me, so they...' She sighed. 'There's a reason why I'm so afraid of water.'

She could say no more, but Luigi understood exactly how that story ended. The thought made his stomach churn.

'Listen Lindsey,' He said. 'I would love to stay here for the rest of the night, but we really need to get going. My friends could be in trouble, and - as much as I hate to say this - I think the only way we can get out of this is by fighting and capturing your sisters.'

Lindsey responded to such a statement by leaping into the air, and putting her hat back on.

'Then I'm coming with!' She said. 'Maybe I can talk them out of it, now that I know they really do still love me.'

'Okay.' He said after a lot of thought. 'But the second things start getting dangerous for you, I want you gone.'

'I can do that!'


'Are you fu- for f- you have got to be sh-!'

To say the Oozers were not a threat would be an understatement. With Polterpup around to sniff them out, Daisy tore through them like wet paper. They were not what was causing her to swear every few seconds. It was those blasted doors. Running down the gallery past the portrait ghosts, screaming in agony from finding yet another one-door room, ending up in the lounge for the fiftieth time... if she didn't find that stage any time soon, she would disregard the rules completely and physically bash her way through.

'ARE YOU-?! Ugh.'

She couldn't even recognise this room. It appeared to be yet another bathroom, but this had a bunch of oversized playing cards laying about. Without really thinking, she picked up the Ace of Spades card resting on the toilet seat and ripped it to shreds.

'Arf?'

'NO, I AM NOT OKAY!' She shouted. 'I'm about to have a Grambi-damned aneurysm thanks to this stupid floor! If I don't find those triplets RIGHT NOW,' She reached for the next door. 'I'M GONNA- oh.'

By sheer 'luck' - actually just stubbornness and process of elimination - she had finally ended up back in the stage room. Two of the triplets awaited her, but neither seemed to notice that she had finally arrived.

'We don't have to do any planning.' Ginny said. 'They'll never get this far anyway.'

'I know, but it never hurts to think about it.' Nikki replied. 'After all, you never know. These guys gotta be good if they survived Ms Serpci's pyramid. We don't want to be caught with our pants down.'

'We're not wearing any bloody pants!'

'What? No. I mean-'

Daisy cleared her throat as loudly as she could. Both girls snapped their attention to her.

'What?!' Ginny yelled. 'How the bloody hell did an idiot like you make it through the rooms without losing your mind?'

'Making it through? Yes.' Daisy said. 'Without going insane? Eh, the jury's kinda out on that one.'

Ginny growled. 'C'mon Nik, there's gotta be some rule she broke.'

Nikki shook her head. 'Sorry GinGin, but from what I can tell, she followed the rules to a T.'

The middle sister crossed her arms and pouted. Nikki just rolled her eyes, an impressive feat considering her lack of pupils.

Daisy cocked an eyebrow. 'Wait, where's the third one?'

'That doesn't matter.' Nikki said. 'I think this fight will be a lot better for us without little Lindsey dragging us down.'

Lo and behold, Luigi opened the other door to the stage just a few moments later. Polterkitty and Lindsey were right behind him.

Daisy's eyes brightened. 'Luigi!'

'Daisy!'

The happy reunion was over before it could even begin, thanks to Lindsey.

'NIKKI! She cried in absolute joy. 'GINNY!'

She flew across the room and brought both her older sisters into a big, tight hug.

'Get off me, ya pillock!' Ginny yelled, shoving herself away.

'Seriously Lindsey,' Nikki said, pushing her away by the forehead. 'Stop with the hugs.'

'But you girls don't understand!' Lindsey said. 'Ms Gravely is controlling your minds! You gotta fight back.'

To her shock, her older sisters just laughed.

'Linny, tell me.' Nikki said, giving her a patronising grin. 'Why do you think Hellen Gravely ignores you? Hm?'

'I-I-I, um, don't know...'

'Oh what a shock!' Ginny said. 'And that's precisely why. Not only are ya too nice for ya own good, but you're a complete bloody berk!'

Only now, Lindsey knew, did she mean her jabs and insults. Under her breath, she muttered unpleasant things about their boss.

'Anyway!' Nikki announced. 'I would like our guests to please step forward onto this wooden stage. It is required for our next trick!'

None of our heroes thought this was a good idea, but it wasn't like they had a choice. Luigi with Polterkitty and Daisy with Polterpup stepped onto the stage as directed, and readied themselves for an attack.

'And now,' Nikki continued, waving her arms out. 'Nikki, Lindsey, and Ginny shall present to you-'

'Actually,' Lindsey said, adopting a more serious frown. 'It'll be just Nikki and Ginny today.'

Whatever trick they had planned was interrupted. Nikki and Ginny gave their youngest sister odd looks, with the former putting her hands on her hips.

'And what makes you say that?' Nikki asked, an eyebrow raised.

Ginny groaned. 'Have ya finally realised you're dragging us down?'

'NO!' Lindsey yelled, crossing her arms.

Her older sisters jumped back, and so did our heroes.

'I'm not going to help you anymore tonight!'

Nikki faked a gasp. 'But Linny, you can't do that! We're your sisters, remember? We gotta stick together as a family, just like what we've done for centuries.'

'That's just it. You're not my sisters! My sisters might tease me and call me a worker - or whatever it is you say, Ginny - but they would never abandon me once the rooms are scrambled. But you girls did. You are not my sisters. You're just whatever it is Ms Gravely is moulding my sisters into!'

'Wha... you...?'

Lindsey twirled her wand in her hand like it was a gun, and left her sisters with a swing in her 'step'. She wrapped her free arm around Luigi's shoulder, and glared at the other two young ghosts.

'Pudding told me all about what Ms Gravely was doing to you. I hoped that we could just talk it out, but that didn't work. I could never fight my own sisters... but until you start caring about me again, you are not my sisters!'

Nikki and Ginny gasped, this time for real.

'Well fine then!' Ginny yelled. 'Join the bloody tossers instead of your own sisters.'

'YOU'RE NOT MY SISTERS!'

Nikki pinched the bridge of her nose. 'Alright then. If that's how it's gonna be... Nikki and Ginny shall present to you our most favourite trick!' She waved her wand around. 'Now, simple stage, shed your normal form. Get weird and wacky as you transform!'

Ginny rolled her eyes. 'Did you seriously just rhyme transform with form?'

'I'm a magician, not a poet!'

Red curtains rose from the floor, surrounding the entire wooden platform with our heroes and Lindsey caught up in it. A spotlight from nowhere shone so brightly that Luigi had to shelter his eyes. The remaining triplets had disappeared, but the real trick showed itself when the curtains sunk onto the floor again. The normal room was gone without a trace, with only the wooden platform and the stage lights surrounding it left. Now, our heroes stared off into a swirling purple void. Random objects like dice and chairs flew out of its glowing white middle and spiralled away.

Daisy peered over the edge. The void seemed to go on forever, far deeper than the hotel or even planet would surely allow.

'Oh dear...' Lindsey murmured.

'Lindsey,' Daisy said, putting her hand to her forehead. 'I hate to ask, but why is this an 'oh dear' situation?'

'We haven't done this trick for, um, decades, I think? My sisters only do it if they really want someone dead.'

'Oh great.'

Nikki and Ginny reappeared with two puffs of lavender smoke, just barely out of Daisy's reach.

'I see some shivering legs and sweaty faces!' Nikki said. 'That means our greatest trick of all is working! What do you guys think of it?'

'I hate it.' Daisy replied.

'Um, it's alright, I guess?' Luigi said.

'Alright? Just alright?!' Ginny shouted, clenching her fists. 'DO YOU KNOW HOW BLOODY LONG IT TAKES TO GET THIS TRICK RIGHT?!' She sighed. 'Stupid mortals...'

Nikki sighed, fed up with both her younger sisters. She whacked Ginny across the back of the head with her wand, to which the middle triplet responded by dropping about a dozen expletives that cannot be repeated.

'Just ignore my sister, okay?' Nikki said. 'Where were we? Oh yeah. I assume you mortals are looking for this. I hope when I reveal this, you won't be a glutton. But I think what you want is this shiny yellow button!'

With a quick flick of her wrist, she materialised the next elevator button from thin air. It had a big bold '12' printed on it. Nikki could tell just by looking at those mortals' pupils that she had them right where she wanted them.

'You ever played a game of cup-and-ball?' She asked. 'Good, then you know how this'll work. Just remember - I'm the one with the button!'

'And,' Ginny added. 'Since our sister doesn't want to just bloody cooperate, we'll need to add something else to this little game.'

Using her wand, Nikki summoned another top hat identical to Lindsey's where the youngest sister would've stood. A ticking bomb could be heard within it.

'Whether you get Ginny or the bomb,' Nikki said. 'You're in for a bad time! And believe me. I know that from experience.'

'And trust me!' Lindsey added. 'I'd rather find the bomb.'

'And that's the way I like it!' Ginny yelled.

Before anyone could ask how it could possibly be hard, Nikki and Ginny disappeared into their hats. Like the game they described, the three hats swapped places about ten times at a near blistering speed.

'Left, right, right, middle… LEFT!' Daisy cried, pointing at the hat on the left. 'My left, if you need that clarification.'

'Ah ah ah!' Nikki's voice echoed from everywhere around. 'Did you think it would be that easy? Right or wrong, our game doesn't end here!'

One by one, the hats left their spots and soon all three were circling around the stage, each leaving behind a sparky trail of purple mist. Thanks to the disorientating void in the background making him dizzy, Luigi lost track of Nikki in seconds. Polterkitty let out a distressed yowl. Daisy, however, kept herself spinning on the spot like a ballerina.

'You think this scares me?' Polterpup said. 'I can sniff out that button like nothing.'

'Sorry Puppy,' Lindsey said, tapping her fingers together. 'But that's not gonna work. See, to really make sure that this game is fair, they use, erm, some sort of magic to jumble up your sense of hearing and smell. So, you're just gonna smell that button everywhere.'

'Ugh, you serious? Of course.'

The hats spun and they spun and they spun. Daisy, through all of it, had managed to keep track of Nikki but was slowly succumbing to dizziness.

'Come at me!' She yelled.

The hats did just that, shrinking the circle they were tracing slowly but surely. The hats soon got so close that their trails touched and formed a complete circle. They spun so fast that they left red hot sparks behind. Daisy stepped back until she bumped into the Poltergust.

'Luigi, sweetie,' She said, beginning to sweat. 'Do you maybe wanna-?'

'Way ahead of you!'

Luigi activated a burst, sending the caps flying backwards. They landed on their tops, each with a rainbow rope of handkerchiefs hanging out of them. Each rope was equally as long as the others, with no visual differences between them at all. Like Lindsey had said, Polterpup couldn't even smell the difference.

'Make sure you get the right one!' Lindsey said. 'If you get the wrong one, you might-'

'This one!' Daisy yelled, reaching for a rope seemingly at random. 'Get ready to grab her, Luigi!'

'Um, okay?'

Daisy grabbed onto that rope and yanked on it. The other hats vanished into smoke, and the object inside the hat came tumbling out and fell onto her face.

'Ow...' Nikki muttered, rubbing her forehead. 'That hurt way more than I- GAH!'

Luigi flashed the Strobulb into her eyes, leaving her stunned before she could even realise what was going on. The pull surprisingly weak.

'Alright, alright!' She cried, just barely fighting against the vacuum cleaner. 'I obey the rules of my own game, and you have beaten me. The prize is yours!'

Nikki was sucked up into the device with hardly any effort. The void didn't go away. Despite that, the Poltergust rattled around, signifying the button was about ready to fly out.

'Don't celebrate yet, guys!' Lindsey said. 'Nik may obey the rules, but GinGin doesn't.'

The button flew out of the nozzle, but the moment our heroes could see it, it vanished into thin air.

'Hey!' Daisy yelled.

'Did you clots really expect us to give you the button and sod off?' Ginny's voice boomed from everywhere. 'My sisters may be a bunch of jessies, but I'm not. If wazzocks like you want this button, you'll need to have a punch-up with me!'

Ginny reappeared in the starting position, with a spare hat on both sides. Now, both hats emitted that ticking bomb sound. The middle triplet snickered to herself, before disappearing into her own hat.

'I'm gonna keep trying until you bugger off and die!'

Lindsey gulped. 'Oh, I miss the days when that was an empty threat.'

Daisy's line of sight was planted firmly on the middle hat, watching it intently as it went left, right, all around... if poor Luigi was too overwhelmed and if the bizarre landscape confused the Polterpets, Daisy would make up for them and more. Ginny kept swapping until she made herself dizzy.

'Right!' Daisy announced to everyone. 'She's on the right!'

The hat in the middle spun around on the spot a little faster than the others, before firing out a flying playing card. It soared through the air like an arrow. Daisy jumped out of the way. Luigi was not so lucky.

'OWIE!'

The card just barely touched his cheek as it passed by. It sliced through his skin, leaving behind a small but bleeding cut.

'Oh, sweetie!' Daisy cried. 'You okay?'

'Y-Yeah.' He said. 'It's basically just a paper cut.'

Lindsey cringed. Polterkitty hissed and growled at Ginny, just barely missing her with her claws.

'Shut the bloody hell up, ya pestiferous cat!'

Polterkitty did not stop snarling.

'Pudding, be careful!' Lindsey cried. 'Ginny could do anything she wants to you. I know she usually likes you, but she doesn't right now!'

'I don't know what we're all worried about.' Daisy said. 'She's on the right. I can track her.'

Lindsey gave her begging eyes. 'No, you don't understand! Ginny won't follow any of her own rules. She will do anything to ensure that she wins. If there was a spell that could make you disappear completely, she'd do it if you ticked her off enough.'

'Well, right now, I'm more pissed off than she could ever be!'

Just like before, the hats began to circle the arena. The middle hat went first, and the all-important right one went next. Daisy spun around on the spot, her eyes like a crosshair on their target. Luigi attempted to track one too, but a flying grandfather clock in the void took away his focus.

'Hey, I used to have a grandfather clock just like - D'OH!'

With the scent of everything everywhere, Polterpup couldn't concentrate on anything. Meanwhile, the scattering smoke reminded Polterkitty too much of Master's Gheistpaint. Lindsey's conscience simply didn't let her even glance at the hats. Daisy watched. She paid attention to that one hat like she'd die the moment she looked away. No matter what, even if she had to stand there for days, she would not lose track.

'Do ya plonkers really think I'd make it this easy?' Ginny asked. 'I'll leave ya jessies begging for mercy! Now watch as I pour in all of my heart, into this spell that'll leave you in the dark!'

Everything went dark with nary a warning, so dark that Luigi's own flashlight couldn't begin to pierce it. Even the ghostly eyes of Polterpup and Polterkitty could barely see a foot in front of them.

Luigi and Daisy screamed at once.

'Daisy, where are you?! I don't even know where I am!'

'I'm right here, Luigi. Don't worry! At least, I think I am. GINNY!'

The middle triplet cackled. 'Now how's that for a jolly ol' trick? Nikki would tell me that isn't fair, but she's not here!'

Lindsey grumbled. 'But I'm still here!'

Ginny scoffed. 'You? You're a little wallflower, Linny!'

The youngest sister clenched her fists and held her wand up to the sky.

'That's it!' She declared. 'I only helped you kill all those other mortals because you girls were doing it! I convinced myself that if I played along, you'd love me again. But now I know the truth. Now I know that it's all Ms Gravely's fault, and only her fall will bring you and Nik back. And Luigi here is just the guy to do it!'

Ginny snickered. 'What the bloody hell are you saying? That you'd rather help out those wankers than your own sister?'

'No! I'm saying that these 'workers' will help me get my sisters back! And I'm gonna help them. Now, my wand, help me do what's right. Help out these mortals and bring back the light!'

The dark vanished, as quickly as it arrived. The hats had kept spinning, but they were closing in fast.

'Damn it, Lindsey!' Ginny's voice echoed. 'I was going to cut their feet off!'

Luigi activated a burst, knocking the hats away and onto their tops. Like before, rainbow ropes spewed out.

'Daisy, which one is it?' Luigi asked, trying to hide his mounting stress. 'Daisy?!'

Daisy stood in the middle of the arena, still as a rock. Her eyes darted from hat to hat, the ticking bombs getting louder and louder. Her heart beat out of her chest.

'Daisy?'

'I... I... I LOST TRACK!' She shouted. 'T-The lights turned off, and n-now I don't know which one is right!'

Luigi gasped. 'O-Oh no…'

Daisy reached out for one of the ropes, but stopped herself. She could feel those pickle dandelions wanting to fly back out of her stomach. Luigi's heart stopped.

'MIAOW!'

Lindsey watched her new friends struggle, and clenched her fists.

'Ginny, forgive me this…' She said. 'I'm still a Twisted Sister, even though I've swapped sides. But I need to know where my middle sister hides!'

At first, nothing happened. Then, one of the hats began to glow green. Green hearts fluttered out of it, followed by the sounds of Ginny inside.

'AH-CHOO!' A bunch of sparkles burst out of the hat. 'Ugh, bloody pixie dust!'

Daisy gasped and yanked on the rope leading from the glowing hat. The other two vanished as Ginny came flying out of it. Unlike Nikki, she got to her proverbial feet in moments.

'YAY!' Daisy cheered.

Ginny's eyes fell not onto the mortals nor their pets, but instead her younger sister.

'You...' She muttered. 'You jerk! You betrayed your own sister!'

Lindsey teared up, but gave her a glare. 'This is the only way I can save you, GinGin. Just be like Big Sis Nik and surrender! You'll be freed from Ms Gravely.'

'As if I would surrender to you!'

Luigi did not want this argument to go on any further, and unleashed a full blast Strobulb at Ginny. The young ghost predicted such a move, and dove to the left.

'Only a git like you would think I would raise the white flag that easily!' She yelled.

'GINNY!' Lindsey snapped back. 'Listen to me! We can be a family again if you just let Luigi capture you.'

'BAH! I don't need no bloody family. 'Specially two sisters who only held me back!'

Luigi attempted to flash her again, but she was out of reach. Daisy groaned, and stood between the two sisters.

'Hey Lindsey!' She said, waving her arms up and down. 'Why don't you perform some sort of spell to get the button back or something?'

Ginny laughed out loud. 'HA! You think that muppet can do something that bloody complicated? You know how knackering it is to intentionally teleport something?'

Lindsey looked to the floor and fiddled with her wand. 'Hm... GinGin's right. I'm no good with magic...'

Daisy pulled at her hair and groaned. 'FOR GRAMBI'S SAKE! The one spell that could get us out of this right now, and you can't bloody do it. Geez... why are you so USELESS?!'

Silence. Daisy regretted those words before they even came out of her mouth. Words that she meant to aim at herself. Everyone stared at her. Lindsey was seemingly too shocked to be upset.

'What. Did. You. Just. Say?' Ginny muttered.

Daisy spun around and saw Ginny giving her a death stare that rivalled even King Boo's.

'Um, that your little sister is useless?' She said.

Ginny crossed her arms. 'Listen here, ya twat! I don't care who you are. No one - and I mean bloody NO ONE - bullies my little sister but ME!'

Lindsey smiled. Ginny got up in Daisy's face, pointing her wand right between her eyes. Daisy had no choice but to keep backing away.

'She's MY little sister, ya blighter! And if you think I'm gonna let you get away with calling her useless, you've got another think coming!'

All of Luigi's hate for Ginny vanished like it was part of a magic trick.

'If you're gonna say such beastly things about MY little sister...'

However, Daisy was still approaching the edge.

'Then you're just A BLOODY-!'

'GinGin!' Lindsey cried.

'WHAT?!'

Ginny snapped around, only to find herself at the receiving end of a Strobulb flash. Though Luigi really didn't want to, he tethered onto her tail and began to drain her ghostly energy.

'GET OFF ME YA TOSSER!'

Luigi, deciding she had to be taught a lesson, slamming her into the floor. With each bash, Ginny spat out a curse that cannot be repeated. No matter how hard she fought, she quickly became another victim to the Poltergust. She grabbed onto the floor in a fruitless attempt to anchor herself.

'GAAAHH!' She screamed. 'I'm gonna kill you if I ever escape this bloody vacuum!'

She disappeared with a pop. The nozzle rattled about, and the twelfth floor button went flying out of the Poltergust. As it fell to the floor, the bizarre void returned to the normal room from before. Our heroes were, once again, in a 'regular' hotel room.

'Oh goodness...' Daisy muttered, wiping her brow and picking up the button.

Luigi's attention immediately fell on Lindsey. 'I... I am so sorry that we had to do that. I-I'm so, so sorry.'

Lindsey took off her hat and bowed before the green-clad man, and she did so with a smile.

'It's okay. Really!' She said. 'My sisters are now safe from Ms Gravely, and that's all I care about. I got to see Pudding again, and I met Cheesecake too! I just have one more favour to ask for.'

'I'll do whatever you want.'

'Please, capture me too.' Her voice cracked. 'I can't be without my sisters. We've been together since the beginning.'

Luigi nodded. 'Alright. After all you've been through, it's the least I can do.'

'And after that,' Daisy said. 'We should take a quick trip to Elvin's. Just to drop them off quickly. And maybe get a bite to eat. I'm starving.'


Lindsey had no idea where she ended up, but she didn't care. As long as her sisters were there, she would be happy.

'LINNY!'

She was in the ghost container unit for only a few seconds when her older sisters brought her into a massive hug. It was warmth she hadn't felt in a long, long time.

'Are you okay? The green man didn't hurt you, did he?'

'I'm telling you Linny, I'm gonna teach that bloody blighter a lesson for saying those awful things to you!'

'I'm okay, girls!' Lindsey said. 'Luigi's a really nice guy. And Daisy was pretty nice too.'

Ginny realised what she was doing and broke away from the embrace. She crossed her arms and turned away.

'Pfft. I wasn't that worried about a git like you.' She said. 'I don't know what you're yabbering on about.'

Lindsey giggled. 'You know what you were doing when Daisy was mean to me.'

Ginny blushed. 'You- I- you can't prove that!'

'I see what this is.' Nikki said, hugging Lindsey tighter. 'I like to call it Tomboy Syndrome. You want to distance yourself from anything girly so much that you don't want to admit that you actually love your sister.'

Ginny said nothing, but her blush got more intense.

'HOOOO-WEEEE! Lookit that, Billie.' Clem yelled, pointing at the triplets. 'Our sisters are back!

'Hawtdog!' Billie said. 'And here Ah t'was worried we'd never see them again once we was sucked inta tha void thing.'

'Uh, Billie, there was no... forgit it.'

The Hayseed twins joined in on the family hug, to which Ginny stuck out her tongue. No way she was in the mood to be crushed by a couple of rednecks.

'GAH!' Dr Potter exclaimed. 'I don't need no whippersnappers here too!'

'W-Welcher?' Amadeus questioned in his native tongue, before he gasped. 'Girls! You've returned!'

Soon, most of the other ghosts stopped doing whatever nonsense they were doing and rushed off to the only children among them.

'You guys okay? Was the green guy friendly?'

'Ug see some signs of emotional distress, but not enough to make Ug too worried.'

'When zis is all over, I'll bake you girls zee sweetest cake you've ever eaten.'

'Geez. Dat was scary for a moment dere. Youse good?'

Some of the ghosts didn't crowd around them. Unsurprisingly, Chambrea was one of them. She was still throwing her body at the walls in some attempt to break out.

'I don't CARE how long it takes me!' She shouted. 'I'll get that green boy even if it kills me a second time!'

Serpci and MacFrights were all the way in their own little corner. The two had spent the last several hours staring deeply into each other's eyes, lying down in the air like they were on some sort of romantic picnic.

'I'm so happy to see my brave heroic warrior!'

'Thou art ye light ineth me life, me gorgeous queen!'

Ginny gagged; things were getting way too sappy for her now. No one noticed her leaving the crowd, except for Dr Potter. The old gardener approached her nice and quietly.

'Ginny? Yeh okay?' He asked. 'Are yeh hurt? Any bruises? Bumps? Scratches? Did that green whippersnapper hurt yeh? Did that plant murderer do anythin' tah yeh?!'

Ginny grumbled. 'Only because I was being such a bloody jerk. God, I feel awful for that chap.'

'So yer good? No injuries?'

'Not anything severe. At least on the outside...'

Dr Potter opened his arms out, and beckoned for a hug. Ginny hesitated for a moment, before rushing into his embrace. She hugged him tight, and he stroked her messy blonde hair. Try as hard as she might, she couldn't help but to weep softly into his dusty old clothes.

'It's okay, Ginny. I know we're all a li'l scared right now. No one has tah know how scared yer really are.'


NIKKI, LINDSEY, AND GINNY KAHDABRAH, THE TWISTED SISTERS

AGE - 12

GENDER - Female

CAUSE OF DEATH - Witch-hunting

These triplets are very talented when it comes to the art of magic and illusion, which unfortunately got them labelled as witches in their village and promptly put to death. Despite leading to their death, they still adore performing magical tricks and pranks. Nikki is the self-appointed leader, Lindsey is a sweet ditz, and Ginny is an impulsive tomboy. They tease each other all the time, but don't YOU dare make fun of them or they'll teach you the meaning of pain.

Author Notes - By having Lindsey help our heroes instead of participating in the battle, we only have to do the cycle twice instead of three times. I'm not sure how I would even make all three cycles feel unique. The scene between her and Luigi was one I had been looking forward to writing, and it ended up a lot more involved than I thought it would be. Which sums up the whole story, honestly.

By the way, the "I'm a magician, not a poet!" was taken directly from an episode of the Super Mario Bros Super Show. And it won't be the last time I reference that show either.